International Journal of Social Economics: Volume 18 Issue 5/6/7

The Eternal Path to Communism: From Marx via Lenin and Stalin to Solzhenitsyn and Gorbachev

John Conway O'Brien

It is shown that the destination of communists can never bereached. The goal of the perfect society is one which lies beyond thepowers of human nature. The analytical teachings of…

Soviet Ideology and Soviet Reforms

Elisabeth Tamedly Lenches

Marxism‐Leninism has played an instrumental role in the achievementand consolidation of a hitherto unparalleled concentration of power bythe Communist Party of the Soviet Union…

Gorbachev as a Social Market Economist

Siegfried G. Karsten

Gorbachev is in the process of not only abolishing central planningand the privileges of the nomenclatura but also establishing broadpolitical dialogue and elections, and, most…

Perestroika, Economic Freedom and Moral Agency: Marxism, Economics and Legality

Leslie Armour

Changes in Eastern Europe raise two sorts of questions: What is therelation between political, economic and moral autonomy? And is theeconomic system basic in that a change in it…

On the Causality of Great Personalities and Great Events Exemplified by Lenin and the October Revolution

Ernest Raiklin

Was the October Revolution inevitable? If yes, what was its realcharacter? If not, could it have been avoided or taken a differentcourse? What was the role played in it by Lenin…

Professor Raiklin, Hegel and the World Historical Individuals

Leslie Armour

Hegelian ideas are used to explain the success of Lenin. Hegel′saccount of the World Historical Individual may be especially relevant atthis time because the dialectic between…

Gorbachev's Critique and Vision of Soviet Socialism

Abu F. Dowlah, John E. Elliott

Gorbachev′s vision of democratic, decentralised and market‐orientedsocialism has generated diverse and controversial perceptions in theSoviet Union. Gorbachev′s claim that the…

Intellectual Precursors of Perestroika

John E. Elliott, Abu F. Dowlah

This article investigates the intellectual roots of perestroika. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the architect of perestroika claims that his programmes and policies are aimed at…